FremantleMedia North America Taps Lee Rierson As COO

Burbank, CA – FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) Chief Executive Officer Thom Beers has named Lee Rierson as Chief Operating Officer, effective July 22. In his position as COO, reporting to Beers, Rierson will oversee Production, Business and Legal Affairs, Communications and Marketing, Business Development and Strategic Planning. FMNA’s current slate of shows includes “American Idol,” “The X Factor,” “America’s Got Talent,” “The Price is Right,” “Let’s Make a Deal” and “Family Feud,” among others.

Said Beers, ‘We couldn’t be more excited to have Lee bring his incredibly impressive skills to FMNA as we press forward into new areas of creative partnerships.”

Said Rierson, “I am delighted to join up with Thom and the brilliant FMNA executive team. With the talent and assets the company has in place, it is poised to build rapidly on its iconic brands using its deep domestic and international content generation and distribution capacities. I’m looking forward to working with the entire team to accelerate that process on all fronts.”

Rierson joins FMNA from Shine America, where he also served as Chief Operating Officer. At Shine America, he was responsible for corporate operations including Production, Business and Legal Affairs, Music, Human Resources and Labor Relations. He joined Shine America’s predecessor Reveille in 2006 and was later promoted to joint Managing Director, prior to being named COO. Previously, Rierson was Vice President, Business Affairs at ABC Entertainment, having originally joined ABC as a program attorney in 1997. Rierson also practiced as an attorney at the law firm of Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren & Richman, the Law Offices of Steven Drapkin and the Proskauer Rose firm.

Rierson is a graduate of UCLA School of Law with a Juris Doctor, and holds a B.A in economics/business from UCLA. He is actively involved as a board member of public radio station KCRW.

1 Comment

2.0 • on Jul 8, 2013 12:11 pm

Such a smart guy but also as friendly and thoughtful as they come. He’s genuinely a “my door is always open” type of guy for both business and personal matters, which is an often hyped but not always executed policy.